President Rodrigo Duterte started his six-year term with a record 91% trust rating, the highest score given to a public official since Pulse Asia started its operations in 1999.
Duterte’s rating is higher than the 85% trust rating of former president Benigno Aquino’s when he started his term in July 2010.
The Pulse Asia survey released yesterday showed that 91% of the 1,200 Filipinos polled from July 2 to 8 trust Duterte while 8% are undecided.
“President Rodrigo Duterte begins his stint as the country’s 16th president with an overwhelming majority of his constituents expressing trust in him (91%) and practically no one distrusting him (0.2%). The rest of Filipinos (8%) cannot say if they trust or distrust President Duterte,” Pulse Asia said in a statement.
Among geographical areas, the president got the highest trust rating in Mindanao at 97%, followed by the National Capital Region at 92%. He got an 89% trust rating in Luzon and Visayas.
Across socioeconomic classes, trust for Duterte is highest among Classes D and E at 92%, followed by Class ABC at 89%.
A similar survey conducted by Social Weather Stations showed Duterte getting an “excellent” net trust rating of +79.
Informed of the survey results, Malacanang Palace thanked the Filipino people for their “overwhelming support” for the president.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte’s record-high trust rating of 91% is “a humbling reminder that the genuine and meaningful change that our people aspire for is now being felt.”